Arsenal remain locked in negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk over a transfer for Mykhaylo Mudryk as they continue their Premier League title charge. The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points with a win over Brighton after Manchester City dropped points against Everton.
Gabriel Jesus' injury during the World Cup threatened to derail their season, but Eddie Nketiah has proved to be a reliable replacement since Premier League action resumed on Boxing Day. The Brazilian summer signing is set to be sidelined until February, but Nketiah has scored in back-to-back games as Mikel Arteta's side now prepare to face Newcastle.
The Magpies are enjoying a strong season of their own and are currently challenging inside the top four as Arsenal look to reinforce Arteta's squad. football.london understands the Gunners had an opening offer of £55million rejected by Shakhtar, but reports have now revealed they have made an improved offer worth around £62million.
READ MORE: Everything Arsenal transfer target Mykhaylo Mudryk has said amid fresh Edu bid as talks progress
Shakhtar have publicly stated that they want a huge fee for their star attacker, with vice director Carlo Nicolini demanding a fee close to £100million, the same price as what City paid for Jack Grealish. Nicolini told Italian news outlet Calciomercato: "€60million (£53million) it's not enough to sign Mudryk.
"Our director said that we need a bid closer to the Jack Grealish fee (£100million) than Antony (£86million) to sell Mudryk. We're not even considering a bid with €40million (£35million) as fixed fee."
The Gunners have made signing Mudryk a priority in the January transfer window but should negotiations break down with the Ukrainian outfit, Edu will need to have a back-up plan in place to ensure Arteta has a squad capable of continuing their title challenge. According to Estadio Deportivo, Arsenal may look to pursue a deal for Barcelona star Ferran Torres should they fail to secure a deal for Mudryk.
Torres has failed to establish himself as a first team regular at the Camp Nou since arriving from City a year ago. Given Barca's financial difficulties, they are said to be open to selling the Spanish forward.
Arteta has already poached Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from City last summer with both players proving to be brilliant additions to his squad. Arteta could repeat the same transfer trick if the Gunners look to sign Torres from the Catalan giants.
The 22-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided a further seven assists in 45 appearances for Barcelona and could be moved on after just a year with Xavi Hernandez's side, who brought in Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha last summer. Torres would likely be significantly cheaper than Shakhtar's asking price for Mudryk and given he already has Premier League experience, it may be a clever back-up plan for Arsenal to consider should they fail to sign the Ukraine international.
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